Defluo Inter Prestigiae
by ErikaC
Summary: Auror, Harry Potter has been working on a case involving several deaths. Soon, this case will hit a little too close to home, causing Harry to question his own sanity. **Editing and expanding. Chapter 1 complete**
1. Overtime

Disclaimer: I own my words, but nothing else.

Chapter 1: Overtime

It was a late night in the Auror's office. Harry Potter leaned wearily back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes under his black-rimmed spectacles. He had been pouring over the case files for the past thirteen hours. He was becoming mesmerized and he felt he might soon go completely blind. Three wizards had turned up dead in the past nine days and so far, nobody had managed to come up with any suspects. These deaths hit Harry especially hard because each man, like him, had a son about to start at Hogwarts and Harry couldn't imagine not being there to see his children off to school for the first time. He could scarcely believe that James would soon be taking his first trip on the Hogwarts express. He really was getting old, he thought.

Harry was getting very annoyed with this case. There had to be something in all these files that hinted at who might be causing all this mayhem. Harry grumbled in frustration and swept all the papers off of his desk. '_Come on Harry, that won__'__t help anything._' He muttered to himself. With a sigh of regret, he flicked his wand and the paperwork fell back into tidy little piles on his desk.

"You know, I never really got the hang of that charm. Every time I try, I end up with a bigger mess." Came a deep voice from the doorway.

"I had to learn it. You've seen how much mess my kids make." Harry replied, looking up at Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic.

Kingsley chuckled slightly and approached Harry's desk. "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be home for James' birthday? A young man doesn't turn eleven every day, you know."

"Yeah, I know. It's just that this case is driving me absolutely cracked. Nine days and not a single lead! The best I've got is a witch in Leeds who says she saw the third victim outside her house the day after he went missing. I've gotta follow up on that tomorrow morning." With more than a hint of regret, he glanced at the brand new Firebolt leaning against a filing cabinet behind him. He had sent an owl home to his family earlier that evening saying that he had to work late and that he would make it up to each of them when he got home.

"Would you care for some advice?" Kingsley asked. "Go home. Celebrate your son's birthday, and then get a good night's rest. Tomorrow you'll take James flying and then you'll come in here rested and with a clear head. I've had too many cases like this to believe that anyone, even the savior of the wizarding world," He held up his hand to stop Harry's protests, knowing how he felt about being called by that title. "could solve this thing without being well rested."

Harry sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "You're right." He said finally. "You're absolutely right. I really should be home tonight. I'm heading home right now." Kingsley gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked out without another word. Harry stood up, stretched his tired and aching muscles, grabbed James' new broom and walked out of his office, intent on getting home as quickly as possible.

Moments later, he apparated just outside his garden gate and was relieved to see the lights still shining brightly inside his home. It was late, but perhaps he would be able to spend some time with his family after all.

When he opened the door, Harry was ambushed by James, Albus and Lilly. "Dad!" they cried in unison as they threw their arms around him. Harry had to brace himself against the doorframe to keep from falling back onto the stoop.

"Hey guys." Harry said, still struggling not to topple backwards.

"Alright, kids, come on inside before you crush your poor father." Ginny laughed from the hallway. They obliged much to Harry's thanks, and Lilly and Albus ran back into the sitting room to wait for him to enter. James, alone, stayed behind with his father.

"I am so sorry I missed your birthday dinner, James. I know that this won't make up for that, but happy birthday." He said, handing James the Firebolt. James tore off the paper and his eyes widened to the size of saucers when he looked down at his new broom.

"Dad, this is… wow! A Firebolt! Thanks, dad!" James threw his arms around his father's neck.

"So am I forgiven?" Harry asked.

"Not yet, but you definitely made a dent." replied James, still hugging his father tightly. "Say, can I give it a spin?" He asked eagerly.

"Tomorrow." Harry laughed. "Right now, I have to make a dent with the rest of our family." Together they walked into the sitting room. James rushed to show his new broom to his brother and sister who were both very interested in the Firebolt, which as Albus had said, was "just like dad's". This was not exactly true. Harry's model was several years older. Ginny had given him a new Firebolt for their first anniversary since his had been lost as he left the Dursleys' just before his seventeenth birthday. The newest Firebolts had built-in tracking systems to prevent loss. Harry wished he had that particular feature on his own, since he had lost his for a whole month a few years back.

Later that evening, after the kids were well asleep, Harry began to settle into bed. Ginny lay down beside him a moment later and wrapped her arms around his chest from behind, whispering into his ear. "So what's so important at work that keeps you from celebrating your son's birthday with him?"

Harry turned to face her. "It's this case I've been working on. People are dying and we haven't got a single clue as to who it is, or why they're doing it. It's driving me mad!"

Ginny rubbed his back in gentle circles. "Harry, I'm sure you'll work this one out, just like all the others, but you also need to take some time for yourself and for your family."

"You're right, Gin. Kingsley told me the same thing. I'm gonna do it, I promise. Tomorrow I'm gonna take James flying. It's the least I can do considering I wasn't here tonight." He replied. There was a pause as Harry lay there enjoying the rhythmic circles that Ginny was tracing on his back. Sighing deeply, he pulled her closer to him. "And I can think of a way to make it up to you too." He smiled at her, emerald eyes gleaming mischievously. He pulled her into a passionate kiss, which she returned heartily.


	2. Flying Lessons

Chapter 2: Flying Lessons

The sun rose slowly over the mountains in the distance, spilling into Harry and Ginny's bedroom from the large leaded glass window. Harry groaned as the sunlight hit his eyes and rolled over to face away from the offending rays. He reached out for his wife, but found only wrinkled sheets. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he rolled out of bed and staggered to the shower and adjusted the temperature of the water. Revelling in the hot stream of water pouring down his back, Harry began to smell the tantalizing scent of bacon, toast and coffee wafting up from the kitchen. Stomach rumbling, he finished washing, turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Fully dressed, dark silky hair still looking as though he had just rolled out of bed, Harry entered the kitchen sleepily and sat down at the table with his wife and kids. "Morning everyone." Harry yawned.

"Sleep well Daddy?" Lilly asked him, laughing slightly, as she scooped more scrambled eggs onto her plate and added maple syrup. Harry smiled warmly at the sight. He had done the same thing when he was little, when the Dursleys allowed him to, that is.

"Well, just not enough, princess." Harry replied chuckling slightly. "So I was thinking, James, how would like to have your first flying lesson after breakfast?"

"Can I come too?" enquired Albus longingly.

"No! Dad!"

"Calm down James. Sorry Al, but you won't be flying a real broom until you're eleven. James and I will be going alone. That's my final word." He added to stave off a protest that was about to come from Albus' mouth. "You'll get your chance next year, I promise."

When they had finished eating, the children ran outside to play in the garden while Harry and Ginny began to clear up the dishes. "Did you get a chance to read the Prophet yesterday?" She asked with a smirk.

Harry heaved a heavy sigh. "Do I want to know what it says?" She gestured to the paper that lay on the counter in the corner. The headline on the front page read:

**CHOSEN ONE****'****S ELDEST SON TO BEGIN AT HOGWARTS**

**It has been nearly eighteen years since You Know Who was defeated by Harry Potter, current head Auror for the Ministry of Magic, and finally his first son, James (named after Potter****'****s late father) will be starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Though we cannot be too hasty in assuming such, this journalist believes that we can expect great things from this young wizard****…**

**(Continued on page 6)**

"Great." Harry groaned. "Three people dead in little over a week and that's what they put on page one. Have the kids seen this?"

Ginny laughed. "Since when have our children paid any attention to the news? I think we're safe for another little while. We may have to sit down and talk with James before September, though, and make sure he understands. I don't need a son with an over-inflated ego." Harry nodded and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her gently behind her ear. "Keep that up, Potter, and you'll be too busy to take James flying."

Harry released her and went to the cupboard to grab his broom. "We'll just have to wait until tonight." he teased, then he called out "Come on James! Let's see what that broom of yours can do."

Harry and James set out for a large meadow about two kilometres from the Potter home. Harry had chosen this location because the ground was soft and the trees surrounding it were tall enough to shield their activities from muggle eyes. Harry took a few minutes explaining the basics of flying with his son. This didn't take long since James had been flying his practice broom for many years. He had also been up in the air with his dad a few times over the years and couldn't to be up there on his own.

"Okay, first time around, I want to you make one lap of the meadow. Don't go up more than two or three meters. I want you to get a feel of the Firebolt before we go up any higher. I'm serious, James, this broom is much more powerful than that practice broom you've been using." He eyed his son suspiciously before proceeding. "If you do well, we can go up a little higher. If you ignore my instructions, we go home. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." said James. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't go up high on his first run, but knew from experience that his father would be true to his word if he disobeyed.

Harry watched in eager anticipation as his eldest son mounted the broom and took off. He felt a surge of pride as James stayed low to the ground and made his lap of the field, landing perfectly on the ground in front of him. "Well done, kiddo! I'm really proud of you." Harry beamed.

"Thanks dad! You weren't kidding, this thing really IS powerful! Can we take her up higher now?" Harry laughed quietly. He knew that for a young man like James, it would have been agony to ride such a powerful broom and not test her limits. So, with that in mind, Harry mounted his own broom and father and son took off, chasing each other through the air laughing and having the best day either could remember.

After several hours of flying, father and son rolled, exhausted, off of their brooms into the soft grass. "I wish we could do this every day, dad."

"Me too, James. Right now, though, I've gotta get to work." Both of them sighed at this and pulled themselves onto their feet and began to gather their things. As Harry bent down to pick up his broom he heard a loud pop directly behind him. He spun, reaching for his wand, but before he could utter 'protego' he was hit with the Cruciatus curse by his unknown assailant. Dropping to the ground with a heavy thud, Harry screamed in blood-curdling agony. His eyes blinded with white-hot light, he felt bile rising in the back of his throat. Suddenly the pain subsided and he was left trembling in the grass. He squinted up at his attacker, who rounded on James. Wandless and terrified, James stood his ground, eyes riveted to his gasping father.

The cloaked stranger raised his wand, pointed it at James and shouted "Avada…" Harry raised his wand and shot a curse at the man and shouted "Protego!" The power of the shield charm knocked James back as well as the stranger who never finished uttering the killing curse.

"Run! Run, James! Get help!" Harry shouted, dragging himself to his feet and squaring off against the dark stranger. Desperately wishing he didn't have to leave his father alone, he knew he was more of a hindrance than a help, so he quickly climbed onto his broom and raced home, trying with all his heart to coax every bit of speed his Firebolt was capable of.


	3. The Worst Day Ever

Chapter 3: The Worst Day Ever

"Mom! Mom!" James landed heavily in the garden and stumbled off his broom into the house. "Mom! Help! Dad needs help!" He was sobbing and out of breath, scared to death that he couldn't get help in time. What he feared the most was failing his father, returning to the meadow to find him dead. "MOM!" He cried desperately.

Ginny came running up from the basement. "What is it? What happened?" She pleaded. "Where's your father?"

"We were flying," He started. "We were gonna come home and some wizard attacked him!" James sobbed harder than he had ever done. "Mom, he's in the meadow, the man too, they were duelling and dad made me come back to get help! Please, we have to help him!" James dropped to the floor panting, tear streaming freely down his face.

Ginny held her son's face in her hands. When she spoke, she spoke calmly and clearly. "James, get your brother and sister and floo over to your Uncle Ron's. Tell him what happened and tell him to get the Aurors and meet me in the meadow. You don't leave that house until I come and get you. Understand."

James gathered up all his courage and nodded. Ginny raced out the door, grabbing Harry's invisibility cloak on the way out, swept it over herself and apparated just outside the gate. James gathered up Albus and Lilly and without a word of explanation ushered his panicked siblings into the fireplace.

Ginny apparated into the field, wand held aloft, ready to murder whoever it was that had the audacity to hurt her husband. In the presence of his child, no less. She spun on the spot eyes peeled for her target, her husband, anything other than this. There was nothing all around her, nothing to suggest that an attack had taken place. She flung down the cloak and raced around the meadow, tripping over Harry's Firebolt and almost jumping out of her skin when Ron apparated not twenty meters away, his wand raised. "Ron! He's not here, he's not here!" She continued to search every bit of the meadow and raced through the trees surrounding it. Ron followed behind her.

"Gin, what happened? James said there was an attack and…"

"I don't know!" She sobbed. "Why isn't he here?" They both heard several pops in the meadow and raced back out to meet the Aurors. Ron briefed them on what they knew, which was not very much at all. As far as they could tell, they had an Auror missing, their head Auror. To Ron and Ginny, he was so much more.


	4. Reality

Chapter 4: Reality

Harry awoke in a tiny concrete cell. The room was only about three meters by four meters and the ceiling was so low that if Harry were to stand, his head would almost touch it. There were no windows and only one door. It was a heavy wooden door, reinforced with thick black iron bars bolted into it. He was really glad he wasn't claustrophobic.

Trying to move, he reeled in pain. _What happened?_ He wondered silently to himself. Then it came to him like a blow to the stomach. The meadow. He looked around him in panic. Where was James? Did he get home safely? He desperately hoped that his family was safe.

Just then, a tall, emaciated man, who has the wild look of somebody who had spent a lifetime in Azkaban, stepped into the room. This was the man who had attacked him and his son, Harry realized. "What do you want?" He demanded. "Where's my son?"

The man looked down at him with a look of pure venom. "What do you care?" He rasped. "You were going to abandon him anyway." Harry looked absolutely puzzled. Why would he abandon his own son? What was this man talking about?

Harry tried to haul himself to his feet, but his captor pulled his wand and pointed it at Harry. He froze, not wanting to provoke the man. If Auror training had taught him anything, it was to not antagonize someone who had a wand pointed at you. Harry slowly reached into his pocket, knowing already that his wand wouldn't be there. He heard a mirthless, evil laugh and looked up into the face of the dark stranger.

"Did you expect me to leave you your wand, Potter?" Harry did not respond. The man's expression changed from one of dark amusement to one of pure loathing. He raised his wand and Harry braced himself for the Cruciatus curse, but instead the man uttered an incantation Harry had never heard before. "Defluo Inter Praestigiae."

Harry saw a flash of blue light and everything returned to normal. He looked around him and the man was gone. Frantically, he searched his body for any sign of damage, but found none. "What was that?" He muttered to nobody in particular. He leaned back against the wall and tried to come up with some sort of plan. _Please let my family be okay. Please let somebody find me._ He thought.


	5. Without a Trace

Chapter 5: Without a Trace

Ron sat in the room full of Aurors. They were all bickering loudly about their next course of action. Harry Potter had gone missing nearly twelve hours ago and the only clues they had were a memory volunteered by James and some footprints in the trees surrounding the meadow from which he disappeared.

Hermione sat next to him, having brought the children back to Ginny who was at the Burrow with her parents. Her face reflected perfectly the fear and anguish he himself felt at his best friend's disappearance.

Finally, Ron slammed his fists down on the table and shouted "Enough!" The whole room stopped and looked at him. "Right." He said settling down a little. "We have an Auror missing and not much time to find him. This attack seems to fit with the others that Harry was investigating. If this killer has indeed taken him, we don't have long to find him. Book, Anderson, I want you to go to that witch's house and ask her about that third victim. Harry was going to do that today. She may have some answers for us. Davies and Hyde, start running through known criminals outside of Azkaban who match the description of the man James saw. Hermione, I'd like you to look through Hogwarts records to see if there is anyone who may match that description. Talk to Minerva and Hagrid too, judging by the approximate age of this guy, if he went to Hogwarts, they might remember him. Take the memory with you, as far as I know, Dumbledore's old pensieve is still there."

"And what are you going to do?" Asked Book.

"I'm going to go over every bit of this case Harry's been working on to see if there's anything we missed. Then, I'm gonna see if there are any past cases where someone might have held a grudge against him." Ron looked around at the faces staring up at him. "Well what are you waiting for?" He shouted. "Get to it!"

The crowd of Aurors leapt up from their seats and rushed out the door. They knew that Ronald Weasley would not take kindly to anyone falling down on the job, especially when his best friend's life was at stake.

Within seconds, the only one left behind was Hermione who was scooping up the memory and sealing it inside a small crystal vial. She looked around to see Ron slump against the wall and slide down it to the floor, face buried in his hands. She walked over to her husband and sat down beside him, putting her arm around his shoulders and resting her cheek against his bicep. "We'll find him." She whispered, through her own tears. "We'll find him." Ron felt great comfort by this, but could not share her confidence.

"Why can't people just leave him alone?" He sniffed and wiped the tears from his face. "Why is it always him? Hasn't he suffered enough?" Hermione did not know what to say to this, but held him tighter.

"Come on," she said after a moment. "We've got work to do." With that they both stood and headed for the door. Before she turned toward the lifts, Hermione placed her hand on Ron's back. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked.

"Not until he's back with his family." Ron sighed and slumped off to Harry's office.

Hermione could not spare a moment to offer comfort. She had work to do and it could not wait. She knew that the only way she could help would be to find out as much about this attacker at she possibly could. So, once in the atrium of the ministry, she took a deep steadying breath, stepped into a fireplace and said very clearly: "Hogwarts" and vanished into the emerald flames.


	6. What Happened?

Chapter 6: What Happened?

Ginny had put the kids to bed in Ron's old room. It had taken a while to get them there, especially James. The kids were worried sick about their dad and Lilly had cried herself to sleep leaving James and Albus awake. "What happened, James?" Albus asked when he was sure that Lilly was asleep and their mother was out of earshot.

James had no wish to relive the morning's events, but felt that Albus had every right to know what had happened to his father. "We were flying, Al." he started. "We were flying and it was the best day of my life. Then dad said he had to get to work so we'd better go home and while we were gathering up our things a man came." James could feel tears well up in his eyes, but took a couple of deep breaths before going on. He had to be strong for his brother. "Dad made me run home to get help and when mom got to the meadow, he wasn't there." James decided to leave out the part where the stranger tortured his father and tried to kill James. Albus was just a kid after all. Not that he was much older, he just felt that way sometimes.

"Do you think dad's okay?"

James glanced at his brother. He could see the fear in his eyes. They both knew that dad had a dangerous job. He had come home more than once with cuts and bruises or broken bones. They had even visited him at St. Mungo's once or twice. But nothing this terrible had ever happened to him, as far as James knew, and it scared them all to think that they might never see their father again. "I don't know, Al. I hope so."

"But if he wasn't there, then maybe he caught the bad guy and took him to Azkaban and that's why he wasn't there."

"Don't you think they checked that out, Al? He didn't go to Azkaban today."

"But maybe he's on his way and they just don't know it yet. Maybe he got lost on the way, or the prisoner got hurt and dad has to fix him up before they can go on. What if he comes home tomorrow morning and we're not there? He'll be worried!"

Albus' hope was palpable and James couldn't in good conscience stomp on his hope that everything would turn out alright. "Maybe, Al. But if dad comes home and there's nobody home, he'll definitely check with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione or with nanny and poppy Weasley. So he'll find us quickly. Just don't get your hopes up that you'll wake up tomorrow and he'll be here."

Albus was quiet for several minutes and James thought he had finally fallen asleep. James rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes.

"James?"

"Yeah, Al?" He opened his eyes again and looked over at his brother.

"Is dad gonna be okay?"

"I hope so, Al." With that Albus wiped a tear from his eye and rolled over to his other side, curled into the fetal position and pulled the blankets up over his head like he always did when he was scared. James got up from his bed and crawled in with Albus. "He'll be okay, Al. He's our dad." Albus nodded and drifted off to sleep. James, however, would not get much sleep that night as he still felt that he could, somehow, have prevented this from happening in the first place. _I had to have a stupid broom. _He thought miserably.

Downstairs, Ginny sat at the kitchen table with her parents, feeling more scared than she had felt in all the years since Voldemort's downfall. Her mother sat beside her, rubbing her back while her father fixed them each a cup of tea. It was unbearable to think that her children might never see their father again, that she might never see her husband. Never feel his warm hand caress her cheek. Never press her lips against his. Never laugh together about something that only they found funny. It was too much to think about so she pushed it out of her mind.

"He'll be okay, Ginny." Her mother cooed. "How many times has he gotten into situations like this and come out on top?"

"Too many times." Arthur stated firmly. "Once more shouldn't be too hard, should it?" He didn't know how truthful this statement was, but he needed to believe it as much as Ginny did.

"I'm sorry I ruined your nanny/poppy sleepover with Rose and Hugo, mom. I just didn't feel safe in that house with him gone."

Molly could feel her daughter trembling in her arms. "Don't be silly, dear. Rose and Hugo were asleep hours before you got here. Besides, what kind of mother would I be if I'd didn't look after you in times like these."

"I'm not a little girl anymore."

"You'll always be my little girl."

"Besides," Arthur added. "We all care about Harry very much. Maybe not in the same way as you do, darling, but just as much, I'm sure. You'll stay here as long as you need. No sleepover will ever be as important as something like this."

"Do Rose and Hugo know what happened?" Ginny enquired.

"No." Molly replied. "And I don't think we should tell them much. I'm sure they'll want to know what has happened, but I think we should let Ron and Hermione tell them any details they see fit." She looked into her daughter's tearstained eyes. "Come on dear, let's get you to bed."

The next morning, the family was gathering around the kitchen table for breakfast. Rose and Hugo came bustling down over the stairs. When they saw Ginny they rushed up and threw their arms around her. "Aunt Ginny!" They cried in unison. She greeted them warmly and hugged them back. When they had settled to the table with James, Albus and Lilly, Rose was the first to notice the missing seat at the table. "Wait a minute. Aunt Ginny, where's Uncle Harry?" The tension in the room returned like a fog. Ginny dropped the skillet of bacon she had just lifted from the stove.

Arthur was the first to recover. "Uncle Harry's not here, Rosie. It's just Aunt Ginny and your cousins."

"Why?" Hugo enquired.

"Not now." Molly responded. "We'll explain after breakfast." Together they ate in silence, hoping that today they would have more answers.


	7. Enter into Illusion

Chapter 7: Enter into illusion

Harry must have drifted off because when he awoke, he found himself slumped against the wall in his cell. He ached all over and shivered from the cold dampness that surrounded him. He looked around him hoping that today he would get out of here. That was when he saw it.

The heavy wooden door stood wide open and beyond it lay his wand. Wary of some sort of trick, Harry eased himself off the ground and crept cautiously toward the door. When he reached the threshold, he glanced cautiously around the corner, whipping his head back inside the cell almost immediately. When no curses flew, he poked his head out again. The hallway was empty. Silently, he bent down and grabbed his wand.

"Lumos." He muttered. Slowly, he ventured down the corridor towards a set of stairs. The silence was deafening but he kept his pace. At the foot of the stairs he paused. "Homenum Revelio." Nothing. Harry still didn't let down his guard. Wand at the ready, he proceeded up the stairs, but no sooner did he reach the top than the man stepped out in front of him. Harry shouted a curse at him, but his wand had turned into a rubber carp. He barely had time to contemplate this before the man pushed him down the stairs.

Down Harry fell, each stone step causing him a great deal of pain. He felt bones break as he fell and knew this would seriously hurt his chances of getting out of here. Everything faded to darkness when he landed as Harry lost consciousness.

When he awoke, Harry was back in his cell, the firmly shut. He remembered very little of what happened, but felt remarkably little pain considering he had fallen down a flight of stairs. Perhaps his abductor had healed the worst of his injuries he hoped. He struggled to get up. Pulling himself into a sitting position, he tried to raise himself to his feet. That was when he looked down and noticed that his legs were missing. He felt around where they should be. Clearly they were invisible he thought. They couldn't be gone. They just couldn't. His hands went to rest on his invisible legs and went straight through to the floor.

Harry's barely suppressed panic suddenly escaped him in a long, drawn-out, terror-ridden scream. He screamed and screamed until his voice was hoarse and he was gasping for breath. How was he supposed to get out of here with no legs?

Taking deep, calming breaths, Harry dragged himself to the door. He grabbed a sharp stone from the floor and began digging at the wooden door. There was no way he was going to die here, Harry thought. He chipped away at the door, splinter by splinter, never stopping for a moment. His family needed him and he needed them. When his hands began to bleed, he dug harder. No matter how many blisters he got, no matter how many times they popped painfully, he needed to see his children. He needed to see his wife, to be held in her arms and comforted. He couldn't let this madman stop him now.


	8. Leads

Chapter 8: Leads

Ron sat at Harry's desk pouring over the case file that Harry had been working on. He would have gone back to his own desk, but somehow, being here made it easier to focus. He rubbed his eyes wearily. It had been thirty-two hours since Harry had disappeared and they seemed to be making little headway at all. Davies and Hyde had reported back with a list of all known suspects who matched the description James had given and were now checking up on alibis for these men.

Ron hoped that this would yield results, but it really could be anyone. If this man was smart, he would have used Polyjuice Potion or some other means to disguise himself. Who knew if this was even a man at all.

The old witch in Leeds, it turned out, wasn't much help in Harry's case, but they guessed that if this man had escaped his captor, then it was possible that Harry was being held somewhere in the vicinity. As such, Ron, as acting head Auror, had dispatched a team of Aurors to search the area for signs of anything that could lead them to Harry. The Magical Law Enforcement Squad were canvassing the area, looking for anyone who might know anything else about the disappearance.

"Ron, come on, let's go home and get some rest." called a voice from the doorway to Harry's office.

Ron looked up at his wife, a concerned look on her face. "Hermione, please tell me you found something."

Her apologetic frown told him everything he needed to know, but she continued anyway. "I couldn't find anything in the Hogwarts records. I searched everywhere. I even asked some of the professors there to help me search. I showed the memory to them and the ghosts as well. I figured it couldn't hurt. The grey lady, Sir Nicholas and Minerva all agreed that he looked vaguely familiar and said they'd let us know right away if they remembered a name." She paused. "Ron come on, you're no help to Harry like this. You need to at least try for some sleep. Take a potion if you have to, but please, just take a second for yourself. The kids miss us."

With that Ron felt his eyes well up again. "What are we gonna tell them 'Mione?" He lay his head down on the desk and let out a heavy breath. She was beside him in a moment, crying harder than she had let herself since this whole fiasco had begun.

"I don't know." she sobbed. They curled up together in Harry's chair and held each other tightly.

It was several hours later that one of the apprentice Aurors barged in, waking them. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley! We just got an owl from McGonagall! She's remembered who he is!" Ron and Hermione stood so quickly that the chair flew back into the wall with a resounding thud. Ron grabbed the note and scanned it quickly. "Byron Oaks. What do we know about him?" Hermione grabbed the note to read for herself.

"Not much, sir. We've got people doing a full background check. He attended Hogwarts from '81 to '88, we're still looking into what he did when he was there. We know he attended a wizarding orphanage from the summer of '81 until his graduation. St. Alderson's in Tinworth."

"Great work! I'm going to check out this orphanage, see where this kid came from. With any luck they'll have records that'll tell us where to start looking. Hermione, are you coming with me?" She nodded and they ran as fast as they could for the lifts.


	9. Through the Rabbit Hole

Chapter 9: Through the Rabbit Hole

Harry didn't know how long he had been gouging at the door, but he could finally see light on the other side. He hadn't seen his abductor since he had fallen down the stairs, but was sure that he could not be left here alone much longer. Surely the man would bring food or water eventually. Harry would ordinarily have hoped that to be soon, but given that he would most certainly be found out when that happened, Harry hoped beyond hope that he could escape before then. He dreaded waking up and finding some other part of him missing.

A little more digging and Harry was able to reach out through the door and grasp the handle. It swung open and Harry was blinded by a flash of white light.

He looked around and found himself sitting in his cell, the door whole again and, to Harry's immense relief so was he. He tried to touch his legs, just to make sure and was relieved when rather than touching the floor like last time, his hands brought up solid on his thighs. Wondering what could have caused him to believe his legs missing, Harry stood to get his bearings.

Suddenly, he saw something in the corner of the cell. Cautiously he moved closer and realized there was a body on the floor. He put his hand to the bloody cloak that covered it and rolled it over onto it's back. "No." He gasped. It couldn't be. Not James, he was definitely not seeing his son lying dead in front of him, deep bloody gashes up and down his face and torso. He sobbed "No, James, no. You're not dead. You're not dead. Please, no!" His body was racked with great heaving sobs. His body trembled as he gathered his son into his arms and held him tight as though his very life depended on it. He was so overcome with grief that he soon found himself crawling into a corner and heaving up what little food he had left in his stomach. He retched for what seemed like an eternity and finally, throat burning, he turned to look once more upon the battered remains of his son. Just as when he had finally gotten through the door, there was a flash of blinding light.

He sat in his cell, only this time the door was wide open again. No wand lay outside the door, but Harry crept once more down the hallway towards the stairs. This time, he made it to the top without interruption. He snuck down the corridor and left down a second one. He could still see James in his mind, mangled and bloody, chanted to himself silently that is was just a hallucination. It couldn't be real. If it was, he would have still been in the room that Harry had just vacated. As he made another turn, right this time, Harry came face to face with, a group of people. He started, but quickly recognized the face of his best friend.

"Ron, oh thank Merlin. We've got to get out of here." Ron nodded and handed him his wand. They turned to go back where the Aurors had come from when they were all blinded with a white flash. Harry felt himself falling backwards, dropping his wand in the process.


	10. The Burrow

Chapter 10: The Burrow

It had been three days since Harry had been taken from them and the Weasleys were growing more and more concerned. Panic welled up in Ginny's stomach every time Ron or Hermione came to visit. They would come once or twice a day to update the family on any leads they might be following and to reassure everyone that they were making progress.

The children, while still worried sick, were able to sleep each night believing that Harry could, at any moment, be found and brought safely home to them. The adults, however, were much harder to convince. They all knew what horrors there were in this world and felt that the longer they waited, the longer the odds of finding Harry alive.

"If he were dead, we would know by now." Ron stated one evening after the kids had gone to bed. Rose and Hugo had been staying at the Burrow since Ron and Hermione had been so busy at the ministry.

"The third victim was gone five days before they found him, Ron. The second one, only a day and a half. We have no idea how long we have or if time has already run out." Ginny responded sadly. "What did you learn at that orphanage in Tinworth?"

Ron took a moment to gather his thoughts and began to explain. "Byron Oaks is his name. He was found wandering alone in Diagon Alley with his Hogwarts letter on August 19th, 1981. He wouldn't tell them what had happened, only that his parents were gone. Given that You Know Who was at the height of his power at the time, people assumed that they had been murdered and put him the orphanage."

"I searched wizarding birth records for his name, but couldn't find any." Hermione added. "So I checked muggle ones, as well. His parents were muggles by the names of Alexandra and Hector Oaks. I found this article in and old newspaper from Sheffield, where the Oaks lived at the time." She handed them an old newspaper clipping. "It says that Byron Oaks was killed in a boating accident two days before he was found, but I tracked down his parents and managed to get the truth out of them."

"With a little persuasion." Ron added, miming the flick of a wand. Hermione smirked a little at that. "It seems," Ron continued. "that poor old Byron was disowned for being a wizard. Scared their parents to have magic in the house, so they abandoned him in London and told him he wasn't to come home."

"Oh how terrible." Molly gasped.

"From what the Aurors have gathered, he was pretty much invisible all through school." Said Ron. "Always keeping to himself. Never in trouble, never standing out. He didn't belong to any teams or clubs. He was in Slytherin, no surprise there." Hermione gave him a half-hearted jab in the ribs for that. "After school he just disappeared for twenty years or so. We think he went back to his parents' old house, but that's a just an empty lot now. Seems the whole place collapsed 2009. That's all we know so far."

"The Aurors were through the whole property and the woods behind them. They haven't found anything. Neither have the team out in Leeds, but they're both widening their searches." Hermione added.

None of this information seemed to cheer those gathered around the table, but, Ginny thought, at least it felt like they were doing _something_ to help Harry. With a shuddering sigh, she excused herself from the table and went up to her old bed and let hot tears flow down her cheeks onto her pillow as she tried to block images of what her husband must be going through at this very moment.


	11. Edges of Insanity

Chapter 11: Edges of Insanity

Harry awoke once more in his cell. It was getting really old, he thought to himself for what felt like the billionth time in Merlin knew how long. Had it been day? Weeks? Months? A lifetime? He couldn't remember a time when he had not been in this hellish place. He thought of his family, but the memories were blurry and faded. Did he really have a family at all, or were they just a delusion, created from a lifetime of incarceration.

Harry rose wearily from the floor. He did not really feel up to another escape attempt. Each time he had gotten close, he was thwarted yet again. Still, he thought, maybe the thirty-fourth time's the charm.

In the corner of the cell, lay the bodies of several Aurors, all of whom Harry knew well and liked very much. Most of all, Ron Weasley, his childhood friend and beloved brother-in-law. He dare not believe that he had lost his best friend in this mess. He ignored them as best he could, though it was hard, since, though they were clearly dead, they sometimes jeered at him. They reminded him that it was his fault that they had been killed, that it should be him dead and not them. Ordinarily, this would have bothered him, but he knew that they were not really there. He had seen twelve white flashes since they had first shown up. Sometimes they were there, sometimes not. The last time he had woken up in his cell, they had dragged him away from the door and held him to the floor, taunting him and tearing at his robes with icy dead hands.

This time, the nightmare was manageable. They did not move, but lay in the corner teasing. He pried the door open once more, a huge effort, but it seemed that the cell almost always presented Harry with a relatively easy escape. He wondered briefly what would happen if he just sat there and waited for rescue. Would it come? He didn't know. He didn't know much of anything anymore, except for this hell.

With breathless apprehension, he flung the door open, ready to make a run for it this time. Not a second later, something dark and cold swept down upon him. He felt his blood run cold as flashes of his parents being murdered, of Sirius falling though the veil, of the attack in the meadow and countless other horrible memories flooded his mind. He turned his head from the Dementor, but those cold scabby hands, drew his face back toward it. A long, slow rattling breath echoed around the small room and Harry watched in horror as the Dementor began to perform the Kiss. He struggled to resist, but to no avail and suddenly, as had happened so many times before there was a flash of bright white light and the Dementor vanished leaving Harry drawing ragged breaths and shaking violently on the cold damp floor.

Rolling over onto his hands and knees, he crawled to the corner of his cell, drew his knees up to his chest and sobbed violently, his whole body aching and despair welling up inside of him until he felt like he was drowning.


	12. A New Plan

Chapter 12: A New Plan

Harry awoke to a bright light shining in his face. Wondering what horrors awaited him this time, he slowly opened his eyes, instantly regretting his decision. Blinking away the dark spots that clouded his vision and shielding himself from the bright sunlight, his eyes quickly adjusted to the new level of light. He sat up and looked around him and found himself lying in his own bed, Ginny sleeping soundly beside him.

Hardly daring to believe his eyes, he gently stroked her soft cheek with one hand, grapping his glasses from the bedside table with the other. At that moment, the bedroom door was flung open and James, Albus and Lilly rushed into the room, leaping onto the bed and flinging their arms around Harry and Ginny, who had awoken just in time to brace herself onslaught.

Just then, Ginny looked up at her husband, concern etched on her face. "Are you alright, Harry?"

He nodded. "Bad dream is all." He held Lilly tight to his chest, suppressing tears of relief that he had escaped from his ordeal.

"Are you sure, you look a little rattled." Ginny retorted. Harry assured her that he was fine, though she didn't seem completely convinced.

"Hey dad, when are we going to try out my new broom? I've been waiting all night! I wanna see how fast she can go." James rambled. He was so excited.

Harry looked at him perplexed. "Didn't I already take you out once?" He was sure that he had taken James out the day after his birthday, the day that Harry had been taken.

"What are you talking about dad?" Lilly interjected. "You just gave it to him last night." Harry looked around at the frightened looks on their faces.

"Are you okay dad?" Albus enquired.

"Yeah, I just…" His throat felt suddenly dry. "That was some dream." He finished simply. Harry managed after a few minutes to prise himself from the bed, stretched and sauntered into the bathroom, leaving his family chattering merrily behind him.

In the bathroom, he turned on the water, adjusted the temperature and stepped into the steaming stream of water. "Get a grip on yourself, Harry. It was just a nightmare. You've dealt with them before, you can handle them again. They're safe, you're safe. Get over it." He muttered to himself. Still, he could not shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Closing his eyes momentarily, he let the water cascade over him, calming him as it always had. The water was hot. Too hot, in fact. Harry opened his eyes and shrieked in pain and terror. His arms, his whole body, in fact, were covered in angry red blisters, the flesh burning clear off his body. He leapt from the shower in a panic and frantically began brushing the water off of his skin with a towel. More panic as he brushed off not just the water, but his flesh as well. He dropped to his knees and howled in agony. What was happening to him?

A flash of white light and he was back in his cell, his skin whole and unburned, panic slowly easing down to a manageable level.

Taking deep, slow, deliberate breaths, Harry began to calm himself little by little. _Keep cool Harry. You're an Auror for crying out loud!_ He needed to think back to when this had all started. It seemed like it had never really started at all; that it had always been and always would be. _No. It started in the meadow. What happened? He stunned me. Yes. And I woke up in this cell. Or did I wake up at all? No, I woke up and he cast a spell on me. Defluo… Whatever. Point is, what does it do?_ Harry pondered this for a moment. It had seemed to do nothing, but maybe, just maybe, it was the cause of Harry's hallucinations. Somehow he was trapped in this sick, twisted game. If only he knew how to break the spell. If only he had his wand. _No more 'if only' I need to deal with the facts and come up with a plan._ He thought to himself. But what were the facts and what had been delusion?

Harry thought for a while and decided that he was not really awake at all and in order to escape, he had to wake himself up. "Wake up." He said to himself. Nothing. "Come on Harry, wake up. You can do it, just open your eyes. It's really easy." Still nothing. Harry let out a loud string of curse words, slapped his own face a few times and even stomped on his own foot. He could not wake. Finally, in frustration, he launched himself at the heavy wooden door that he had destroyed so many times before, but instead of bringing up in it, he sailed on though the door, crashing painfully into the stone wall beyond it. He staggered back a few steps and decided to see if he could get any closer to the exit this time. He crept down winding tunnels and found himself face to face with Voldemort himself. "You're dead." Harry stated matter-of-factly and continued down the hall past him. He turned a corner and brought up solid in Voldemort's ghostly pale arms. Gripped tightly by his oldest enemy, Harry struggled to get free. Desperately he clawed and kicked and punched, but Voldemort's steadfast grip held him like a vice. Harry let loose a howl of boiling rage. He felt a wave of magical energy well up inside of him and suddenly Voldemort released him as if he had been electrocuted.

Not wasting a moment, Harry bolted off in the other direction, but Voldemort shouted "REDUCTO!" and the ceiling began to cave in. Harry threw up his hands in a vain effort to protect himself and fell to the ground under the sheer weight of the stone raining down on him.

Crushed beneath a mountain of debris, Harry felt darkness overwhelm his vision as he faded into unconsciousness.


	13. St Mungo's

Chapter 13: St. Mungo's

Harry drifted into consciousness slowly, allowing the voices nearby to draw him back.

"He's looking a little better today." Said a voice, Harry recognized at belonging to George Weasley.

"Yeah, the Healers say that he might wake up from the coma after all. Ginny's relieved." He heard Ron say.

Harry tried with all his might to open an eye or twitch a finger, but everything felt heavy and oddly detached. Someone had surely Spellotaped his eyes shut as a prank.

"You're lucky you got to him when you did said George, otherwise who knows what would have happened."

"I honestly don't want to think of that, George. It took a whole team of Healers to get him here in the first place. He was hanging by a thread as it was." Ron must have been sitting on the edge of his bed because Harry felt him shudder slightly as he spoke.

"Where's Ginny?" Came George's voice once more.

"Hermione took her home to rest. She's been at his bedside for four days now. She's gonna bring the kids by later. They haven't seen Harry since we got him back. It would be too scary for them to see their father all bandaged up like he was."

Harry's heart began hammering wildly. He had been in a coma for four days? His poor children must be terrified. With renewed vigour, Harry struggled to open his eyes. He must have made some progress because Ron suddenly grabbed his left hand and squeezed is gently.

"Harry? Harry can you hear me? George I think he's waking up, get a nurse." He felt his hand being squeezed again, tighter this time. "Come on Harry, you can do it. Open your eyes."

Harry heard rushing footsteps getting closer to him. Finally with all the strength he could muster, he opened his eyes, blinking heavily. Ron was smiling down at him. "Welcome back, Harry." He said.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes." Said George cheerfully.

"Speak for yourself." Rasped Harry, coughing violently as he finished. George chuckled merrily at that, then Ron lifted Harry's head a little and tipped a glass of water to his mouth, which Harry accepted gratefully. Feeling immensely relieved, Harry lay back against his pillow again and drifted off to sleep.

When he awoke it was night time. He squinted in the darkness and reached over to the table where his glasses should be. He put them on, ignoring the deep gouges the rocks had made in the lenses. He looked to his left and saw a shadowy figure standing above his bed. Assuming this must be a Healer, he opened his mouth to enquire about his condition. As he did so, however, the healer shoved a rag in his mouth, clamped it shut and pressed a pillow firmly over Harry's face. Panic overtook his as he struggled vehemently, but with his nose squashed by the pillow and the rag in his mouth, choking him. Unable to draw breath without gagging on the cloth, he felt himself fading into blackness. He felt a pang of dysphoria as once again he was blinded by another hated flash of bright white.


	14. Answers

Chapter 14: Answers

Nine days had passed. Nine long days of worry and of fear. Ginny didn't know how much more she could take. Even during the war so many years ago, when Harry had been hunting Horcruxes, she didn't worry this much. Perhaps it was her youth that had kept panic at bay in the past, or perhaps it was that no matter what dangers Harry had been in, he had never been alone. He had Ron and Hermione to help him.

Harry was alone now. The place in her heart where she kept him seemed to have been stolen away from her, leaving her with a gaping hole, a wound that should surely have bled out long before now.

Every day she feared that she would receive word that he had been killed. She dreaded having to tell her children that her father was never coming home, having to hold them as they cried, having to be strong when all she wanted to do was lay down next to him and die.

Scolding herself for allowing it, she shook those thoughts from her mind and forced herself to concentrate on her children. She was thankful that her parents had allowed her to stay with them until this ordeal was over. Arthur had taken the children into the garden to play any time she felt her strength waver. In those times, Molly had stayed with her, consoling her as she cried, assuring her, though neither believed it, that everything would be perfectly okay just as soon as they found Harry.

On one such occasion, as Ginny lay in her mother's arms weeping softly, Hermione leapt from the fire in front of them. "They've found something!" she pronounced victoriously. "It's some sort of tunnel network near Leeds! They haven't been able to break through the enchantments yet, but they think he might be there." She flopped down in an old armchair, panting slightly. "Sorry, I'm a little light-headed, I ran all the way to the fireplace I used to get here."

Ginny leaped up from the couch. "I'm going. Where exactly is it Hermione?"

Hermione stopped her almost immediately. "Sorry, Ginny." She replied. "Only trained Aurors are allowed. It's too dangerous."

"DANGEROUS? DANGEROUS! After what we've been through in our lives? Hermione we fought in the war! We can handle…"

Hermione cut her off. "We don't know what to expect in there. You don't know what they might find. You can't risk leaving your children without parents Ginny."

Ginny glared at her, fiery red hair matching perfectly the blazing look on her face, but when she spoke her tone was icy cold. "That is my husband in there."

Hermione gazed into the fireplace. "We don't know if he's even in there. Come on Ginny, think about it. If you go tearing out of here like this, you'll scare the children. Ron's leading a team of highly trained professionals. Let them do their job. How would Harry feel if you left them here to risk you life unnecessarily."

Ginny was panting now. On some level, she knew that Hermione was right, but it didn't make staying behind any easier. Finally, she flopped down on the couch next to her mother, hoping against hope that what they found in that tunnel brought good news to them all.


	15. One Last Chance

Chapter 15: One Last Chance

Harry was clinging to sanity with everything he had. He had escaped and been thwarted seven more times since the Healer at St. Mungo's had tried to kill him. Or at least, he had believed that it had happened. He didn't know what was real anymore. He was tired, he was hungry, though he had found a room full of food once. He cringed as he remembered biting into a large green apple and finding it had turned into a handful of maggots. He tried eating several more of the items on the table one by one and each time they turned into something thoroughly inedible. He finally settled on a peach that tasted like sawdust, figuring that if he was hallucinating, it wouldn't matter that he was eating wood anyway. Feeling a little stronger after eating he had tried once more to escape but his legs had become strangely heavy. Dark figures, chased him through the shadowy corridors of his prison, but try as he might, Harry could not make his legs move properly. Finally, he would throw himself to the ground and roll away from his pursuer waking up in his cell. Five times or more, he had come across Ron and a team of Aurors. Sure that they were there to rescue him, Harry ran up to them weeping in relief, only to be cursed or hexed or thrown down the stairs. He had long ago given up any hope of rescue and concentrated all of his efforts on getting himself free of this nightmare.

Once or twice Harry had contemplated ending it all. Maybe that was how he was supposed to wake up he thought. But hope was always overshadowed by doubt. What if instead of waking up, I just die for real? He decided he couldn't risk it. Even lost in this sick imitation of a carnival house of mirrors where one could never know what is real or not, Harry could not abandon his family. He needed to get back to them somehow.

Lost in thought, Harry began to plan his next move. Perhaps if he got it just right, he would be able to escape this time. He would try as many times as it took to get back to the ones he loved.

Suddenly, a dull thud outside his cell distracted him from his reverie. Surely he imagined it, he thought. Then another, thud; this one louder than the first. The thuds became bangs, the bangs explosions until one wall of his cell collapsed before his very eyes. Harry crept cautiously into the corridor beyond and came face to face with the stranger who had thrust this hell on him in the first place. "You." He gasped. The man raised his wand at Harry, who leaped out of the way just in time to avoid a killing curse. He bolted down one hallway, then another. Every turn he made, the man was behind him, shooting curses. Harry made another turn, crashing into the wall opposite him and streaking down the corridor for all he was worth, making another turn and running headlong into Ron Weasley and a group of Aurors. Knowing how this was going to turn out, Harry turned to run in the opposite direction, but felt a hand grasping his right wrist tightly. He spun around to find Ron holding him back.

"Harry, calm down, mate! It's me, Ron." Harry struggled against his friend's hold, desperate to get away. "Harry! It's okay, we've got you now." Ron pleaded, never relinquishing his hold on Harry's wrist. Harry pulled away, facing away from Ron pulling with all his might to break free. Looking toward the corridor from which he had come, Harry saw the stranger turn, face him and raise his wand. Harry spun back toward Ron, who wrapped one arm around his friend and shouted a curse at Oaks. Oaks was shot back down the hall and landed with a sickening crunch against the stone wall some ten meters behind him.

The Aurors rushed down the hall to apprehend Oaks, while Ron stayed behind with Harry who was trembling and still struggling weakly to escape him. "It's alright mate, we got him." He said, rubbing Harry's back. "Let's get you out of here."

Slowly, they stood, Harry half supported by Ron as the other Aurors dragged a bound and unconscious Byron Oaks out of the bunker.


	16. The Road Home

Chapter 16: The Road Home

It took several weeks for Harry to convince himself that he was truly back with his loved ones. He woke up several times each night in a cold sweat expecting to see the tiny cell that he had tried so desperately to escape.

During these times when Harry lay in bed fighting to control his fear, Ginny would hold him gently, rubbing his back and running her fingers through his untidy raven hair. She would whisper words of comfort or hum soothing melodies that seemed to calm him. He would wrap his arms around her, clinging to her warmth as he would a life preserver in a stormy sea.

Kingsley had suggested that Harry take some time off to recuperate and clear his head. Ron had assured him that he would take care of the office while Harry was away. Byron Oaks had not survived for more than a day or so after he collided with the wall in the bunker. While this had come as a great relief to everyone he had hurt, it frustrated them that there were so many unanswered questions. Why, for instance, did he choose his targets the way he did? Why didn't he just kill them? Why the torture? Harry had decided he would rather not know everything as his only wish right now was to put everything behind him.

He thought back on what had happened after he had been rescued that night, after nine long days of hell. He still could not believe that it had only been nine days. Harry had managed, with Ron's help, to drag himself out of the bunker into the forest surrounding it, but had collapsed just meters away from the entrance. He had watched in a sort of half-conscious haze as Ron had pulled him up into his arms and taken him by Side-Along Apparition straight to St. Mungo's where he was treated for anxiety, exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition, along with several other minor injuries. He had asked Ron to fetch Ginny for him, but he had no wish for his children to see him like this. He still didn't believe that he was truly free from the spell.

When Ginny had arrived, she had flung her arms around him planting kisses anywhere she could. She told him about how much she had missed him, of her sleepless nights, and of her time at the Burrow with the children. He had asked her about how James and Albus and Lilly had been dealing with his disappearance and was relieved to hear that they were all safe.

He had asked that the children not come to see him in hospital, even though he longed to see them more than anything. He believed that they were too young to see their father lying in a hospital bed and opted to see them when he arrived home, which was, thankfully, only three days later. Ginny had taken the children home the night after Harry had been found and assured them that daddy was just fine and he would be home in a couple of days.

Harry was still feeling stiff and weak when he was released from the hospital and his stomach ached from his recent introduction of solid food back into his diet. Hermione had been courteous enough to warn the children to take it easy with their father when he came home, that he was feeling a little sick still and they should avoid jumping on him when he arrived.

James had told his father a week after his return that he had been planning this reunion since Harry had gone missing. He had reminded Al and Lilly daily that one day soon their dad would walk right through the front door and greet them all with a big hug like he always did when he had been away with work.

As Harry walked through the door, supported by Ginny on one side and Ron on the other, the children rushed out from the sitting room and stopped several meters away, afraid of hurting their father. Harry lifted his aching arms from around his wife and his friend and crouched down on shaky legs holding out his arms to his children in greeting. They threw themselves into his arms as zealously as they dare, telling him how much they had missed him and how scared they had been. He savoured every second he had with them, not knowing when he would see another flash of blinding white light. But it never came.

Later that night, Harry had sat down with James on the bench under an old ash tree in their garden. Harry remembered building this bench with his children two years ago. It had been a mother's day present for Ginny. Harry knew that James was eager to know what had happened to Harry that day in the meadow and Harry knew that James had been blaming himself all this time. They talked well into the night, long after James should have been in bed, but Harry felt that James deserved to know. Harry never told his son what had happened after his capture, but explained only what he had to in order to make James understand that no untrained wizard could have stopped any of this from happening.

Now, almost a month after the incident, things seemed to be returning to normal. Harry was to return to work in the morning and in a week's time, James would be off to Hogwarts for the first time ever. He and Ginny had been forced to hide James' wand for the time being because they had caught him trying to stun small animals in the back garden. Harry assured him that in a couple of years, he would learn how to stun things, but in the meantime, he was to leave the poor squirrels alone.

That night, he lay in Ginny's arms feeling more contented than he had believed he would ever feel again. Perhaps one day, his adventures would be over, that he could settle down to a quiet, normal life, but in the meantime, he would just had to cherish the moments like these, when everything was peaceful in his world.


End file.
